Veit Bach-a baker who found his greatest pleasure in a little cittern which he took with him even into the mill and played while the grinding was going on. In this way he had a chance to have the rhythm drilled into him. And this was the beginning of a musical inclination in his descendants. JS Bach

I agree 100% but in your estimation what are the chances that USA get rid of this anomaly any time soon?

In hindsight, Obama should have tried to in 2009, but oops.

The USA needs a number of very big reforms to the democratic process, including:- new, more restrictive financing system- nonpartisan drawing of congressional districts based on data but not based on which party benefits- primary elections which function as run-offs, with the top two candidates from any party advancing to the general election (very important for creating more moderation and centrism in Congress)- abolition of Electoral College- civil/criminal court judges are not elected by political party- statehood for Puerto Rico and District of Columbia

The USA needs a number of very big reforms to the democratic process, including:- new, more restrictive financing system- nonpartisan drawing of congressional districts based on data but not based on which party benefits- primary elections which function as run-offs, with the top two candidates from any party advancing to the general election (very important for creating more moderation and centrism in Congress)- abolition of Electoral College- civil/criminal court judges are not elected by political party- statehood for Puerto Rico and District of Columbia

But I doubt we will see any of those happen for 20-25 years.

Amen to all of these. To which I would add term limits for congress; 3 terms for the House, 2 terms for Senate. Then it's back to the farm or practice or whatever in hell it is that you did before.

- primary elections which function as run-offs, with the top two candidates from any party advancing to the general election (very important for creating more moderation and centrism in Congress)

Why not allowing anyone, party member or independent, who meets the elligibility criteria and wants to run, to do so, with the additional condition of being supported by the signatures of a certain number of citizens? For instance, in Romania one only needs to obtain 200,000 signatures to run (total population less than 20,000,000). Such a system would have allowed Bernie Sanders to run on his own.

Quote

- civil/criminal court judges are not elected by political party

Wait a minute! Do you mean that civil/criminal judges are nominated by political parties?

What is your best guess, guys? Trump is self-serving by nature - he believes this to be "smart" - and I think it will be difficult for him to resist taking business advantage of his position in any way he can, though much of this will be under the radar. Until it comes out...

The USA needs a number of very big reforms to the democratic process, including:- new, more restrictive financing system- nonpartisan drawing of congressional districts based on data but not based on which party benefits- primary elections which function as run-offs, with the top two candidates from any party advancing to the general election (very important for creating more moderation and centrism in Congress)- abolition of Electoral College- civil/criminal court judges are not elected by political party- statehood for Puerto Rico and District of Columbia

But I doubt we will see any of those happen for 20-25 years.

Thought of a few more!

- all political donations, to campaigns or to politically active organizations, must be publicly ID'd- all federal candidates must release tax returns for at least 5 previous years- Election Day is a national holiday

My major objection to this is that it is too trusting of Trump's own statements. He could change his mind about any of these things tomorrow (and then maybe change it back again). But it is good to have all these facts in one place.